Blue Streak: A Blue Series Novella (11 page)

Her gaze darted to the side again, as if she was nervous. “She didn’t like how close you and I had become. She didn’t understand us, Zach.”

My shoulders suddenly felt like cement blocks. “So it’s my fault my mom got hurt.”

Alexis grabbed my arm. “It’s not your fault. It was no one’s fault. Your mother tripped at the top of the stairs. She fell and landed wrong. We were arguing that night, but she was my friend. I never wanted anything to happen to her. I didn’t push her, if that’s what you’re worried about. I was at the bottom of the landing.”

I shook off Alexis’s hand and walked to the picture window overlooking the lake that held some of the clearest water in the world. Amazing that I could look at something so beautiful and be surrounded by such ugliness. Alexis might not have pushed my mom down the stairs, but what she and I were doing had caused my mom pain—and those had been her last coherent thoughts.

I sensed Alexis approach from behind. “What we have is special. Your mom didn’t get it.”

“What we had was filthy,” I said over my shoulder, then turned to face her. “I want nothing to do with you. So help me, Alexis, if you come anywhere near me again—my place of business, my home—I’ll go to the police and tell them you raped me when I was sixteen.”

“Ridiculous. You wanted it.”

“Did I? I was a kid mourning the loss of my mother. I was vulnerable and you took advantage. The only reason I haven’t gone to the police before now is because I felt partially responsible, but I won’t let that stop me anymore. And if you think you’re going to turn around and try your hand at another underage kid, think again. If you come near me or my girlfriend, or if I hear even a whisper about you and some kid, I’ll press charges and show proof. Consider this your warning.”

“What proof?”

I gave her a look.

“Those emails? If you still have them, that just proves how much you wanted what we shared. And there have never been any other young men—as young as you were,” she clarified. “You were special. You
are
special.”

“You’re sick, Alexis. Get help. And don’t forget my warning. You know I don’t gamble. I’m not bluffing.”

“Zach!” Alexis called as I strode to the door. I shot her a glare, and her expression fell. She cradled her chest, her lips pressed together. “You’ll come back to me, and I’ll be waiting.”

“No, Alexis, I won’t.” I left and never looked back.

As soon as I was out of the hotel elevator, I attempted to track down Nessa on the casino floor. No one had seen her for over an hour. I waited a little longer, then called—and discovered Nessa knew all about Alexis and the kiss in the hallway.

She fucking
knew
. How did she know?

Didn’t matter. I’d just ruined the best thing that’d ever happened to me.

*

Nessa

I scrub at
the dried tears on my face. It’s been almost half an hour since I got off the phone with Zach, and Mira hasn’t come out searching for me, thank God. She’s giving me space.

Maybe Zach had a good reason for meeting with that woman tonight, but what kind of reason could he have for kissing her?

I’m so tired of being in love with him and not having my feelings returned. He doesn’t see me the way I see him, and it’s time I gave up thinking things can be different. The night we spent together was one of the best nights of my life, and I need to lock it in a box and forget about it.

My stomach clenches. I press on the ache one last time before rising. I take a deep breath, tuck my hair behind my ear, and open the back door to the living room.

Mira’s on the couch studying me as I walk inside. “Ness…” she says, her face a silent question.

“Is it okay if we don’t talk about it right now?”

I don’t think I can handle spilling the story about how naive I’ve been thinking Zach really cared about me.

She nods, and I sit next to her. She turns on the television and we watch a reality show. No idea which one. My brain is numb, while my body switches between pain and nausea.

A knock sounds at the front door, and Mira looks at me.

I shake my head. “It’s not for me,” I say, staring blindly at the television screen.

Mira stands and opens the door. Zach is there. He’s wearing dark jeans and a button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows. He looks handsome, but his eyes are tense and worried.

His presence steals my breath. My entire body hums with anticipation.

Damn my body.

How can I go from aching pain to fluttery anticipation in the span of a heartbeat? I feel everything when he’s near. I always have.

I want to run and hide.

I want to press my face to his chest and have him wrap his arms around me.

I am a conflicted mess.

Zach remains just beyond the threshold. “Nessa, can I talk to you?”

Mira walks to the center of the room. “I’ll just—” She looks left, then right, but her and Tyler’s place is miniscule. The single bedroom is right by the living room, and the walls are thin. There’s nowhere she can go that would give us privacy.

“Will you come for a drive with me?” Zach asks.

I nod. I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to be alone with him. I don’t want to be talked into something my heart is too freaking weak to fight. Where Zach is concerned, I want my head in charge for once, and maintaining distance is critical. But he’s right. There’s no place for us to air our dirty laundry without both Mira and Tyler hearing.

I grab my purse and slip on the nude heels I wore to Mira’s. I’m still in borrowed sweatpants and a sweatshirt, but whatever. Zach has seen me in worse. Or in nothing at all.
God.

He presses his hand to the small of my back and walks me to his truck, opening the door for me. It’s such a boyfriend move, and it pisses me off. He’s not helping to resolve the confusion between my brain and my heart.

“I’m sorry, Ness,” he says once we’re on the main road. “I should have told you what happened with Alexis. I thought I could ignore it, that it wouldn’t affect us, but I was wrong. I don’t want to hide anything from you.” He glances at me, and damn my heart, it beats faster.

My brain is firing all sorts of lovey-dovey messages at the sincere look in his eyes. Which means I’m in trouble. Brain and heart can’t be on the same page if I’m to put an end to what can only be a painful, one-sided relationship.

“There’s nothing you can say that will make me change my mind, Zach. Even if it was just a kiss, you told me it was over with that woman, and it clearly isn’t.” I don’t care how much I want to be with him, I won’t put up with that crap.

“You don’t know the whole story. I pushed her away as soon as we were in her hotel room. I told her—
again
—that it was over.”

He lets out a deep sigh. “When I started seeing Alexis, I was young and vulnerable. I take responsibility for getting involved in something I knew wasn’t right. That relationship dragged on way too long, but I’m not feeding you a line when I say it’s over. For me, it is.”

He pulls into a driveway and turns off the engine, and I realize we’re in front of his house.

“Nessa—Alexis and anyone else I’ve been with are a part of my past. I want you to be my future. I don’t deserve you, but I want you. What you saw tonight was Alexis not taking no for an answer. I’ve convinced her she needs to. And if she doesn’t, I’ll go to the police because I’m tired of her shit.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The only reason I went to Alexis’s room earlier was to get answers about my mom’s accident. I’d just learned that she’d been there when my mom fell. But Alexis did what she always does and took advantage of the situation. I’ve known her most of my life, and I never want to see her again. That’s the truth.”

He pushes out a sigh. “From the moment you and I kissed, Ness, I considered you mine. I’ve always considered you mine. Almost planted a facer on that Sal guy for trying to date you.”

“That’s not what Sal—”

“Yes, it was. Trust me, I know how guys think. And if any man has even a fraction of the feelings I do for you, he’d be trying to lock it in. I know that doesn’t make sense, considering I never did anything about my feelings, but no matter what, you’ve had my heart. I was just too afraid of fucking things up to do anything about it. I wasted a lot of time, but I love you, Nessa. I’ve been in love with you from the beginning. You’re the most beautiful person in my life. Please—Christ”—he tilts his head back in anguish—“please give us another chance.”

I’m not happy he waited so long. Not happy about this Alexis woman trying to cling to him. But for once, my head and heart are in perfect agreement.

I reach for him, and he grabs my waist and pulls me as close as he can with the armrest in the middle, hugging me tight.

He kisses my face, the lids of my eyes. “I’m sorry, I should have told you sooner what happened tonight. Should have told you everything. Just didn’t want to lose you.”

I pull back. “You keep saying you don’t deserve me, but you deserve happiness, Zach, even if it’s with someone else. But I’m happy you chose me.” I smile, and he kisses me deep and handsy, just the way I like it with him.

“I’ll always choose you,” he murmurs between kisses.

“I love you, but crappers, you made me wait a long time to be together.”

I feel his face break into a smile against my neck. “You can punish me, beginning now. Just as long as we’re together.”

He raises his head and kisses me until I can’t breathe. I don’t even want to. Who needs oxygen for a brain when your heart has known all along what was right? Should never have doubted my heart.

My heart is a genius.

D
eborah, the marketing
manager at Blue Casino, along with Hayden, Mira’s boss, and Adam Cade, some executive from hospitality, sit behind a long table interviewing me for the marketing internship. I’d be nervous as hell too, if this interview wasn’t so entertaining.

“So, Nessa,” Hayden says. “You indicate in your résumé that you were in charge of social media for the university during your last year of college. Is that correct?” I nod, and she turns her back to Adam, her body angled toward Deborah. “Deborah and I have spoken about finding someone to help with the social media accounts. It’s a large job. That alone could take up the internship.”

“I’m used to social media. I had a system for keeping up with it for the university. I think I could handle it and still have time for other projects.”

Adam sits forward and leans his forearms on the table, nudging Hayden in the side and forcing her to scoot over. “Hospitality will be working closely with the marketing department this year. Efficiency with social media is key if the intern is to attend meetings and help facilitate communication between the two departments.”

Hayden’s mouth compresses. “Adam, this intern will not be answering to hospitality. Even if he or she did, they wouldn’t answer to you.”

Adam’s lips twitch. “Of course, Hayden. You’re the boss.”

Hayden’s eyes narrow on him.

Deborah glances at the two of them, then gives a subtle eye roll. “Adam makes a good point. At the pace our business runs, an intern who could help bridge the communication gap between departments would be an asset.”

Hayden squares her shoulders, bumping into Adam’s arm. But instead of moving and giving her space, he leans into her, his leg brushing against hers under the table.

Hayden’s face turns red.

The executives are so much more entertaining than the floor employees. This is like watching my smut television.

“Well, I think we have the information we need,” Deborah says, cutting into their nonverbal battle.

Hayden asks if I have any other questions, then wraps up the interview.

“How did it go?” Mira says when I walk into her office a few minutes later.

“I think it went well.” I raise my eyebrows, my face pulling into a wide grin.

“That’s an awfully cheerful look on your face. Was it that good?”

Now that Zach and I have been officially dating for the last couple of weeks, and there’s no more tension or uncertainty between us, it’s easy to laugh and find the humor in life.

I silently close the door and sit in the chair across from her desk. “The interview went really well, but—what’s the deal with Hayden and Adam?”

“Oh God, were they fighting?”

“Something like that. I’m not complaining, though, because watching them kept me from being nervous.”

Mira shakes her head. “They need to bone down already, but it’s taboo because she’s his boss and he’s got this stick up his ass, which leaves them—” She holds her fingers up in fake claws and makes a growling sound.

“Wow.”

Mira shrugs. “Exactly. They’re killing me. I’m trying to stay out of the line of fire.”

A light rap sounds at the door, and Hayden walks in a second later.

“Oh, hello, Nessa. I came to see Mira, but I’m glad you’re still here. Do you have a minute?”

“Of course.” I stand, wondering if I should offer her my seat. It’s the only other chair besides Mira’s. I settle for standing nervously.